


Whisper of the Heart

by persephonaae



Category: Vocaloid
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Chill Gakupo, F/M, No one else ships this so I guess I gotta write them a cliche trope-y fanfic myself, Slow Burn, Workaholic Miku, a nod to one of my favorite examples of idiots to lovers, all characters are around college age/recently graduated from college, enemies to lovers in the sense that when you work in retail the customer is your enemy, i just want my faves to be soft and in love, idiots to lovers, tsundere miku, yes the title of this work is named after the ghibli movie, you know what they say if u want something done u gotta do it urself
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:27:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22194787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/persephonaae/pseuds/persephonaae
Summary: Tasked with branching out and relaxing more by the twins, Miku has to now study at a local cafe as she wraps up her final year of university. An employee of the cafe for several years, Gakupo likes to live a simple life, just letting the days pass him by while working with his closest friends. When Miku grudgingly drags herself into the cafe for the first time and orders a drink from him, it's hate at first sight! Amidst misunderstandings fueling their own pride, they just can't seem to get the other out of their life.So I guess I'm one of the only people who ships Gakupo and Miku, and my heart needed them to have a cute and trope-y Coffee Shop AU in their tag, so here we go! ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ  If you're a slut for good ol' fashioned romance tropes, slow burns, and a couple of idiots falling in love, then you've come to the right place.
Relationships: Hatsune Miku/Kamui Gakupo, Kaito/Meiko (Vocaloid), maybe more later, that's the main ship - Relationship, with fun guest appearances by
Comments: 8
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! Thanks for dropping in! Before I start, I'm going to preface this with I haven't written anything serious in 5 years, so this is very much trial and error for me at the moment. This is still not entirely the most serious thing I've ever written, as this is more of a self indulgent fanfic to finally have some content for one of my fave ships ;_; It's meant to be cliche! Thank you for bearing with me! Feedback is very much appreciated! I'm dusting off my writing fingers, and hopefully this might get better as I go along <3

_ Miku's Perspective _

Make a right, and it’s two blocks down from the bookstore, right at the end of the street. Not the most detailed directions Rin ever gave, but a lot better than the time she told me the super market was “for sure, absolutely located on some street somewhere in this city.” I turned my music up a little louder as I walked down the street, fiddling with the buttons on my coat.

Four years at university and you’ve never studied anywhere outside your own room. Go figure. To be frank, I always hated the idea of trying to get work done in a noisy coffee house, but after ten minutes of what can only be defined as pure, unrelenting peer pressure from the twins, I finally gave up and agreed to at least try it for a week. 

I check my phone one more time to make sure this is the right place before I step through the door, and I’m immediately met with the smell of coffee and ready-made pastries. It’s pretty standard, but cute I suppose; smaller than I expected. Smaller means less people, and less people means less distractions. 

As I’m scanning the hand drawn menu, I remember that I don’t even like drinking coffee. How the hell did I let the twins bully me into this? It’s a good thing they have a small tea selection, otherwise there really is no point of me trying to – what was the phrasing they used – “branch out more”? That’s barely a reason anyway; between classes, clubs, and various rehearsals, I branch out plenty. It’s not even like I’m going to be socializing here. I like studying at home, I can get comfortable and be alone for a bit after being around people all day. Plus it’s quiet there and not filled with chattering people, noisy drink machines, and –

“Hey, headphones, you ready to order or not?”

And certainly no rude baristas.

I know what I’m ordering already, but I do a final once over of the menu before ordering a small earl grey and handing over cash to pay. A couple seconds too long passed with my hand outstretched, trying to pay, when I realized the guy behind the register was saying something again.

I reach up to slide one side of my headphones off my ear and ask, “What?”

He sighed before repeating himself. “I said: Do You Want Milk And Sugar In That?”

_ Geez, I took my headphones off, he doesn’t need to overenunciate like that. _

“Yeah, sure,” I retort, finally able to hand him the money, and toss the leftover loose change in the tip jar. I don’t want to tip this guy, but really, what am I actually going to use a couple pennies for? They just end up sitting at the bottom of my bag for months. Might as well let a useless amount of change inconvenience him.

I’m lucky enough to find an empty table in the corner, right next to an outlet so I can charge my laptop, and decide to wait until my drink is ready before sticking my music back on and getting to work. It only takes a couple minutes, and I’m back at my table, tea in hand and ready to start working. Well, ready to attempt to start working. If I have any hope of concentrating at all, I’m going to need to crank the volume all the way up.

_ The tea is pretty good. Better than the boxed stuff I have at home. _

For being in an entirely new place, I’m being somewhat efficient. I check the time on my phone and look around the room again. Nothing that I didn’t already notice when I first walked in. A lot of other students working on things for their classes. Some girl ordering something and looking to be quite chatty with the guy behind the counter. They’ve been talking for a while now, they probably know each other. Then she leans over the counter and kisses him on the cheek.

_ Ugh. Is it really necessary for couples to PDA all the time? _

At least it’s motivation for me to bring my attention back to the reflection I’m writing. This time, I’m able to stay on task and I’m finished within the half hour. I submit my work and stand up to put my jacket back on. Just as I gather all my things, I notice my empty cup on the table. I didn’t see anywhere to drop off used cups, so I think the employees just come around and grab them when you leave.

So I left. 

One day down, six to go.

  
  


* * *

  
  


_ Gakupo's Perspective _

“How is it that you literally live above where you work, yet you still manage to risk being late to your shift?”

I groan and drag my pillow over my head after the crude awakening of curtains being drawn and my apron being tossed at me.

“I was just getting up,” I lied through the pillow. “What time is it?”

I answer that question myself when I glance over at my alarm clock. 6:45 AM.

“Oh, fuck you.” I throw the pillow at Kaito, barely dodging it as he snickers away. We don’t open until 8, and I’m usually fine rolling out of bed ten minutes before. Well, I’m awake now, and my pillow is halfway across the room, no point in falling back asleep.

It doesn’t take long to get ready; I dig out some clean clothes and tie my hair back and I’m good to go. I guess this means I’ll be able to eat more than just a granola bar for breakfast. Little victories.

Kaito is already in the kitchen, standing behind Meiko while she cooks some eggs.

“Hey can you throw a couple in there for me too?” I ask, opening the fridge to grab one of those canned coffees.

Kaito comes over to lean on the fridge to smugly state his case. “Sorry for the rude wake up call, man. Wasn’t my idea.” He winks in Meiko’s direction.

“Yeah, I figured,” I say in between sips of coffee. “But I get to take my lunch break first today.”

“It’s a deal!” He laughs, sauntering back over to Meiko.

I break out into a smile too and set up some plates for us. I had been Kaito’s roommate for a couple years now when we started working at the cafe, and it’s been about one year now since his girlfriend moved in and also started working with us. It’s nice having them around, even if they do decide to be a pain in the ass sometimes and wake me up early.

“You and I both know you never remember to set your alarm, I was doing you a favor.” Meiko brought over the pan and slid a fried egg and some hashbrowns onto each plate. Somehow, Kaito was already halfway finished with his portion.

“I know, I know,” I sighed before cracking another grin. “Thanks, mom, for making sure I get up in time to catch the bus.”

The rest of breakfast was filled with the three of us poking fun at each other; it certainly woke me up more than the shitty canned coffee did. Before long, it was time to make our way downstairs and start our shifts. It’s always more or less the same. We get a lot of usuals since it’s a small shop, and most of the time I get to laze around behind the counter whenever I’m not making a drink. It was just another regular day.

I work pretty much every day of the week, so I know the usual customers from the newbies. It was the afternoon now, and the shop had hid a lull, when a girl I’ve never seen before walked in. I noticed she was looking at the menu, so naturally, I followed the normal customer service procedure.

“Welcome. Let me know if there’s anything you have a question about!”

She didn’t so much as flinch. It was then I noticed she was wearing headphones and probably was listening to music. I waited a minute before trying again.

“If you’re ready to order, I’m free. I can also answer any questions you have about the menu.”

Still no response. Okay, it’s kind of rude to have your headphones on when you’re about to order something. I mean, there wasn’t any line behind her, but still.

“Hey, are you ready to order yet?” I raised my voice a little, but this still seemed to do nothing.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“Hey!

“Hey, headphones, you ready to order or not?”

_ Finally, I got her attention. _

“Earl grey. Small,” she sighed, seeming slightly exasperated. After that, she just stuck out her hand with a wad of cash in it. Honestly, I hate customers.

“Okay, but would you like milk and sugar in that?” I stare at her. “Hello?”

I guess she realized I was asking a question because she finally shoved her headphones off. “What?”

I sighed and tried not to roll my eyes. “I said: Do You Want Milk And Sugar In That?”

“Yeah, sure,” she snapped, and I finally took her money. Seriously, can’t you at least have a couple manners? I noticed she only stuck the pennies back into my tip jar too. I let Meiko take care of the order because I had half a mind to mess it up on purpose. I cooled off quickly after that, but that doesn’t make it any less annoying.

The afternoon was slow after that, like normal again. Well normal as an afternoon can be when your ex walks in thirty minutes later. Which is… actually pretty normal. Gumi always liked the chai lattes here and came in once a week to grab one. And if I'm being honest, things didn’t even end badly between us. We realized that we were better friends than we were lovers. It was pretty simple. No hurt feelings and now we still get to laugh about it. That was two months ago now.

“What’s up, let me guess…”

“Single chai latte with extra milk?” She laughed. “I am but a creature of habit.”

“Naturally. How’s it going?” I handed off the drink order to Kaito so I could continue talking. “Anything new?”

“Same old, same old. Job at the office is good. Might give my number to a coworker, but that’s-”

“Risky business? Come on, you’ve done worse.” I winked.

“True!” Gumi tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before grabbing her phone to show me something. “Anyway, look, corporate picture, on the right. What do you think?”

I take a look and squint for dramatic effect, just to mess with her. “Hm… I think she’s out of your league.”

She saw right through me and rolled her eyes. “I forgot my lunch the other day and she gave me half her sandwich, that has to count for something, right?”

“Half her sandwich?! Damn, I didn’t know it was that serious already. When’s the wedding?” By now, her drink was ready and I stuck it in a to-go cup for her.

“I’ll be sure to send an invite.” She laughed and leaned up over the counter to give me a kiss on my cheek. “See ya.”

I wave as she walks away from the counter and it’s not even two seconds before Kaito is right by my side.

“So, how’re you doing champ.”

He still doesn’t really get that I was perfectly fine after the break up. He does this every time she comes in. “I keep telling you, I’m fine.”

“Fine is a dirty four letter word that starts with F.”

“Fuck off.” I toss a dirty dishrag at him.

“And that’s another one!” He tries to throw it back at me, but it hits Meiko instead. “Whoops.”

She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. “Boys, where do we work again?” 

“A reputable coffee house, not a playground, ma’am!” He saluted at her before getting hit in the gut with a twisted up dishrag.

We all laughed before getting back to work. Just another normal start to the week.


	2. Chapter 2

_ Miku's Perspective _

“Do I really have to?”

“You promised a week, so you have to go for a full week!”

I groaned in protest. I was on day three of my coffee shop endeavor, and each day was more or less the same. Yeah, I was able to get work done, but what difference does it make where I do it? It’s so much easier just to crash at home, study and do course work, then be able to roll into bed then and there.

“I bet it’s not even that bad,” Rin continued, “You just don’t like admitting that you were wrong!”

“Like the time you complained when we brought you back strawberry matcha boba, and now it’s all you order,” Len chimed in.

“Or the time you binged all seven seasons of Parks and Rec after you told us you hated the first episode and weren’t going to watch any more.”

“Or like when-”

“OKAY! I get it, geez…” I sighed. Seriously, living with the twins is like being their third sibling.

“You’re going to be thanking us soon enough!” Rin plunked down on the couch next to me, grinning from ear to ear.

Len joined us, sitting on the other side. This was beginning to feel like a hostage situation. “Yeah, and who knows, maybe you’ll finally pick up a cute date there!”

“Only if she finally takes out the stick that’s up her ass!”

I groan again. The twins were horrible schemers. “Is this what it’s about? You guys trying to play matchmaker again? That worked out so well last time.”

“Okay maybe we didn’t know that guy was the teacher assistant in your class that semester,” Rin shrugged, “But you need to learn how to have more fun!”

“I have fun, I have tons of fun!” I protested.

“Miku, all you do is go to class, go to academic club meetings, have the occasional rehearsal and recital for the campus orchestra, and then come home to do more homework before sleep,” Len sighed, “And I’m not even sure if you actually sleep!”

“You have a perfect GPA, you can afford to let up sometimes! We know you can have fun, you just choose not to.”

“If I still end up not liking this by the end of the week, you guys owe me big time.” I stuck my tongue out at them.

They really do mean well, they really do, but I’m in my last year of university, I need to be focusing harder than ever to get a good job. Fun can come after I’ve earned the free time to have it. No matter, it’s around the time I usually get going, so I pull myself up off the couch, grab my stuff, put on my jacket, and say a quick goodbye before heading out. It’s the part of autumn when the weather gets colder, so I shove my hands in my pockets as I walk down the street. I suppose it’s nice I’m headed somewhere I can get a warm drink. I could always try making a pros and cons list at the end of the week to see if I actually like studying at the cafe. Cons so far: noisy if I don’t put on music, lots of things to be distracted by, that one guy with the purple hair is kind of rude, I can’t roll right into bed after I’m done studying. Pros: it’s warm.

By the time I had compiled the pros and cons list so far in my head, I was already at the cafe. Looks like they were pretty busy today. There’s a line at the counter, so as I wait, I survey the room.

_ I hope I find an empty table to work at. _

There looks to be one table open, but who knows if it will be snagged by the time I’m done ordering. It takes a couple minutes to get to the front of the line, and I order the same thing I have been for the past three days. Small earl grey, milk and sugar. I have my order prepared in my head so I can quickly say it; I’m trying to avoid the cashier being pissy with me again. When I’m done ordering, I practically sprint over to see if the table is unclaimed. It is, so I throw my stuff down to claim it before waiting for my order to be ready.

_ Another con: it’s hard to find a place to work when its busy. _

I bring my drink back to my table and start setting myself up to get to work. Laptop, check. Notebook flipped to today’s notes, check. Headphones set to volume ten, check. Tea, sipped carefully as to not burn my tongue, double check.

I’m very on top of it today and getting everything done pretty quickly. Everything is going really well. Blasting my music like this really does make it feel like I’m alone here.

But then I realize something.

I’m not actually alone, and I don’t just mean the other people at this cafe.

I slowly remove my headphones and raise an eyebrow.

“Um, can I help you?”

* * *

_ Gakupo's Perspective _

Wednesday afternoons are always one of our busiest times at the cafe. Don’t ask me why, I have no clue. Maybe it has something to do with the university schedule? It does always seem to be a lot of students. Luckily for us, the cafe makes sure to schedule double our employees for the times it gets busy, otherwise I wouldn’t even be able to take breaks at all during my shift.

It’s still pretty standard though. I actually like it when it gets busy sometimes. I recognize most of the customers, so it’s always nice to catch up with them while they order something. There’s a flow to it that just becomes natural. Say hi, take the order, ask how it’s going, make a drink, say hi, take the order, ask how it’s going, make a drink. You get the picture. Yeah, routine can be boring sometimes, but it’s a bit better when you’re able to connect with others. Makes the job less impersonal.

Anyway, it’s just about time for my 15 minute break, so I check in with my co-workers before taking off my apron and heading back to the break room. I think Kaito and Meiko are already on break, it’s always nice to hang out for a second. I open the door to the break room and –

Oh, yep. And I close it again. They are definitely making out in there. It happens, I don’t really mind too much. Whenever they do that, I usually just go out and sit at one of the tables before it’s time to start working again.

But I forgot Wednesday afternoons are busy. Shit.

I do a once over of the room to see if any of the tables are free, and of course, none of them are. Not even an empty seat to be seen at an already occupied table, so I can’t go find someone I know and sit for the rest of my break. No seats anywhere.

Except in the corner there.

It’s that blue haired girl. She’s always so snappy with her order, it’s like she doesn’t even want to be here. And she never takes off those headphones, so it’s obvious she isn’t listening to anyone anyway.

But then again, she’s always so distracted. I bet she has her music up all the way. She wouldn’t even notice if I sit there for fifteen minutes. It’s the best plan I have at the moment, so I go on over and slowly pull out the chair to see if she notices.

Absolutely nothing. She’s still working away, her head nodding a bit, I’m assuming to the beat of whatever it is she’s listening to.

Perfect.

I sit down and start scrolling through Instagram, and it’s going well. For the first five minutes that is.

“Um, can I help you?”

I look up to see the girl had taken off her headphones and was looking right at me.

“Sorry, I’m on break and this was the only seat open,” I reply.

“Don’t you have a break room or something?”

“Well, yeah, but it’s currently… Out of order.”

“How can a break room be out of order?”

“It just is.” I shrug.

“Okay, that’s definitely a lie, but whatever.” I notice that her foot was tapping a little now.

“It’s not like you have to stop whatever it is you’re working on. I only have ten minutes left on my break, you won’t even know I’m here.”

“The problem is, I already know you’re here.”

_ Seriously, what is with this girl. I’m just trying to sit down for a couple minutes. _

“Well, I’m sorry if I disturbed you, but I don’t really have anywhere else to go,” I say.

“It’s fine,” She sighs, foot tapping continuing.

“So… You can keep working you know, don’t mind me.”

She shrugs and replies, “I’m pretty much done right now anyway. No point in trying to do anything else, I’m too distracted now.”

It’s silent for a second, but now I want to know what her deal is. Maybe she’s just one of those people you have to warm up to.

“So what’s your name?”

“What?”

“Your name.” I repeat. “Do you go to the university in town or something?”

She looked taken aback slightly. “Um… Miku. And yeah.”

So I was right about her being a student. “What do you study?”

She shut the lid of her laptop before answering. “I’m an English/Music double major.”

The music made sense; she always had her headphones on. “That’s a cool combination. What are you hoping to do with that?” 

“Why do you want to know?”

“I like getting to know the regular customers. You’ve been in here for the past couple days, and I didn’t even know your name until now.”

“I don’t know _ your _ name.” She raised her eyebrow.

“Oh, uh, sorry, I’m Gakupo.” I try smiling a bit. “It’s nice to meet you.”

She’s silent for a second before nodding and cracking a small smile.

_ Great, I’m breaking through a bit! She’s not as rude as I thought – _

“You’re trying to pick me up aren’t you?”

“What?!” I sputter.

_ No fucking way, is she for real?! _

“You came over and sat down so you could talk to me and try to pick me up.”

“You can’t be serious, I’m just trying to be friendly.”

“ _ Break room out of order _ , come on we both know that was a lie,” she started packing away her things. “You came over, wanted to see if I’d be an easy pick up, even though you already have a girlfriend, and you know, I’m not into it, thanks. Have a good day!”

And with that, she grabbed up all her stuff and left, leaving me to sit there in a daze.

She seriously thought I was trying to pick her up? And what was she going on about me having a girlfriend?

Looks like I was wrong, this girl was as rude as I thought.

Agitated, it was time to go back to work. I sloughed my apron back on and got behind the counter. I guess my mood showed, because it took Kaito no time to stand next to me.

“Oof, what’s the matter with you?”

“Customer service, you know?”

“Yeah… Customer service’s a bitch.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a hot second! Was busy with courses over the past couple months, but now I have some more time on my hands and a need for some cheesy cliche! Back to continuing on my self indulgent spiral I guess ( ;^_^)>

_ Miku’s Perspective _

_ No fucking way, is he for real? _ That creep was really trying to hit on me? And worse, now I have to still go back all because I made a stupid deal with the twins?! My cons list was quickly getting far too long for my liking. I walked home absolutely  _ seething _ yesterday, and probably ended up annoying the twins by singing too loudly to let off some steam in the shower that night. 

When I woke up this morning, I was feeling a little better, but soon remembered despite the reasons stacked up against it, I still have to go to the cafe again. I hope that purple haired douche isn’t working today – I don’t want to see his dumb, stupid face. What’s his problem anyway? Like I wouldn’t see right through him? His stupid nonchalant attitude, stupid trying to get to know me, stupid charming smile when he thinks he can just get whatever he wants, stupid hair in a stupid ponytail while he stupidly makes stupid drinks at a stupid cafe. 

“You seem… Tense.” Rin was watching from the kitchen as I was gripping my phone so tightly that my knuckles turned white. 

_ Whoops.  _ I relaxed a bit and sighed. I don’t know why I fixated on it so much, but I just couldn’t stop thinking about my resentment for the barista.

“Just psyching myself up to go back to the cafe.” I shake out the tension in my hands.

“If you really hate it that much, you don’t have to go the full week, you know.” Len chimed in, grabbing something from the fridge.

“I  _ know _ that, but at this point it feels like admitting defeat. I just wouldn’t be able to let myself live that down,” I shrugged before adding, “At least it smells nice in there.”

“You’re really too headstrong for your own good sometimes,” Rin laughed.

I stood up and grabbed my things, offering a challenging smile back.

“Yeah, well watch out – I’m going to get back at you guys for this, just you wait!”

I shoot finger guns at them and Len pretends to fall over. After we all laugh for a minute, I say goodbye for real and head out the door to go to the ever so dreaded cafe.

When I walk through the door, I’m greeted with the usual sweet smell, the warm atmosphere, music playing softly, and… the bane of my existence. What was his name again? I don’t even want to remember. As I move to stand in line, we glance at each other from across the room and my face is flushed with hot anger. Gosh, he annoys me. At least the line is long enough for me to practice saying my order as fast as I can under my breath while I wait.

When I finally get up to the counter, I was just about ready to rattle off my order when a drink was already shoved into my hands by the barista. 

“Earl grey. Milk and sugar,” he said curtly.

Normally, not having to wait at all for your drink is the greatest feeling, but this just made me prickle with anger even more. 

_ How dare he have my drink ready for me before I even order! _

“Keep the change,” I scoffed as I practically threw the wad of cash at him.

Before I walked away, I caught him making a kind of disgruntled expression before he stuck his tongue out at me.

Oh very mature.

But that didn’t stop me from giving him the exact same face.

The rest of the evening was spent bitterly drinking my tea, barely able to get any work done because I was so frustrated. Who does he even think he is anyway? Stupid jerk. And look, his girlfriend had come back too. She probably doesn’t even know he’s the type of jerk to hit on other people.

Enough of that though, I needed to stop dwelling and actually try to get work done. It was already getting late and I desperately needed to study. By the time I had actually gotten around to studying, any caffeine the tea had was definitely worn off and I wasn’t about to go order another one. Maybe if I took a light nap…

* * *

_ Gakupo’s Perspective _

I’ve dealt with rude customers before, but this girl was really something else. Never seen her before in my life, then all of a sudden this week she starts coming to the cafe every single day, apparently just to antagonize me. After my last attempt of yesterday trying to just be friendly, I realized this had to be a lost cause. I don’t know why I dwelled on it so much though. Normally, I’d just shrug it off and be done with it. Just another customer, I didn’t really have to pay much attention. But she bugged me  _ so _ much. Without fail, she came into the cafe again today, and I felt a prickly sort of anger in my stomach the moment I laid eyes on her, but I already had a plan.

When I gave Kaito the order I just took, I also told him to make the same drink she’s been ordering since she started coming here. The less I had to talk to her the better. It’s funny; it’s the kind of thing I’d do for friends, having their order ready before they even got to the front of the line. But this time, it was out of pure spite.

By the time she got to the counter to order, I already had her drink in hand, held out in front of her.

“Earl grey. Milk and sugar.” I could barely get the drink out of my hands fast enough, but the surprised-turned-annoyed look on her face was priceless.

“Keep the change.” She basically threw the money vaguely in my direction and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Dealing with her made me lose all impulse control.

I guess that’s why I ended up sticking my tongue out at her.

Not my most coherent idea, but it was hilarious to see her be every bit mature as I was when she did so right back at me.

Every so often, I glanced back over at her while I worked. She had several textbooks out and her laptop was open, but she seemed distracted and disinterested – her foot  _ tap-tap-tapping  _ away as she listened to whatever music she had on, nodding her head a little bit to the beat sometimes. I don’t know what about her made me so frustrated, but every time I looked at her I got that prickly feeling in my stomach again.

Perhaps I was distracted myself, because the next thing I knew, I got lightly slapped upside the head.

“Earth to Gakupo,” Kaito taunted. “Gumi’s here.”

“Hm?” I looked up to see her walk through the doors. “Right, thanks. Get a single chai latte with extra milk ready?”

“You got it boss,” he snickered, fake saluting me.

Gumi waved as she walked up to the counter. “Hey!”

“Hey, I already got Kaito on your order.” I smiled, feeling relieved to talk to someone who wasn’t interested in making me lose my goddamn mind. I guess it showed in my voice a little because she asked about it.

“What’s up? You seem a bit tense.”

“Eh, nothing really. Just bad customers, you know?”

“Ohhh tell me about it,” she laughed. “So who’s the offending party? Are they still here?”

I nodded and discretely pointed, lowering my voice. “Over there, long blue hair tied up in twintails, you can’t miss her. She started coming in just this week.”

“Oof, what did she do?”

“Nothing much, she’s just consistently rude.” I shrugged. “I had to go sit at her table yesterday because the break room was already occupied and there was nowhere else to sit down, and she thought I was hitting on her. She was already pretty rude, but she’s been even ruder since then.”

“Wild. Some people are just like that. You didn’t say anything to make her think you were hitting on her though, right?”

“What? No way! All I did was apologize for taking a seat, then try to make small talk since I had never introduced myself before at the register.”

“Sorry, had to check!” She laughed, waving her hands a little.

Kaito soon came up, drink in hand. “Here you are.”

“Thanks a bunch,” she nodded. “Is Meiko here today?”

“Ah, no,” Kaito shook his head. “She has the day off today! I’ll tell her you said hi though.”

“Wonderful! Well, see you guys later!” She gave a small peace sign with her hands and walked away, sipping at her drink.

As I watched her go, Kaito was yet again nagging me.

“Sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, of course. That was over two months ago you know, and she barely comes into the shop nowadays anyway. It’s nice to catch up sometimes.”

“Hey, hey, just have to check! It’s what friends do, I can’t help but worry sometimes.”

I shoved him gently, laughing. “Well, thanks for that then.”

I really was grateful for his friendship. He’s an ass sometimes but in the best way possible.

Kaito leaned against the counter with me, crossing his arms across his chest. “Over two months though. This just means we gotta get you back into the dating life.”

“I don’t know if I’m really looking at the moment,” I shrugged.

“Then I hope it hits you like a truck out of the blue.”

“I’ll let you know when it does.” We were laughing again. “For now, you still owe me from yesterday with the break room.”

“Ah…” He mock-bowed to me several times. “My humblest of apologies! I promise to take the trash out at closing tonight!”

We joked around a bit more, making drink orders as they came in. The rest of the day goes by without a hitch, and it was finally time to close up for the night. With Kaito on trash duty, all I had to do was do a quick sweep of the main shop. It was then I noticed not all the customers had left when we locked the doors. I must have missed her because she was slumped laying down on the bench seat she occupied, but there asleep at the table was that blue haired girl.

_ Great. Now I have to deal with this. _

I stood there for at least five minutes trying to decide the best course of action. It felt weird to just go up and shake her awake, so I eventually decided to just prod her with the end of the broomstick.

“Hey, uh… You kind of have to get up? We’re closed now.” 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before I get to the main content, I may just be a teensy little bit too emotionally involved in this ship ( ;^_^)> Is drawing fake manga pages for your own fanfic too emotionally involved? Who's to say really, haha! The link is in the main body text ⬇︎

<https://persephonaae.tumblr.com/post/622381707763564544/fellas-is-it-uhhh-in-too-deep-to-make-fake-manga>

_Miku’s Perspective_

It was just supposed to be a short nap. I would rest my eyes for ten minutes, maybe fifteen minutes tops, then I’d get back up and continue on with my work. The next thing I knew, I felt something nudging at me and I batted it away, groggily rubbing my eyes.

“Hey, uh… You kind of have to get up? We’re closed now.”

_Hm? What was I-_

_Shit._

I bolted upright and frantically glanced around. It was dark outside the window, and a double check with my watch confirmed it was 7PM. I was out for nearly four hours. How could I be so stupid? I groaned and put my head in my hands for a second before looking up.

Of _course_ it had to be this guy to find me like this, just my luck.

Quickly, I piled all my things back into my bag before scrambling up and making my way towards the door, mumbling a halfhearted “sorry” as I went.

“Hey,” I heard him call after me.

What now?

I turned around, getting impatient now. They were closed right? I didn’t even want to be here in the first place so I, for one, couldn’t wait to leave.

“I locked up the front doors already, you’re going to have to leave out the back.”

“Can’t you just quickly unlock them so I can get out?” I sighed, crossing my arms.

“It doesn’t work that way. The doors are on a security timer thing or whatever when you lock them for the night,” he explained. “It’s shop protocol.”

“Alright, fine then.” There wasn’t any use trying to fight him on this. At least I’d still be leaving.

“This way.” He waved his hand to signal me to follow, already beginning to walk behind the counter. I had to pick up my pace to keep up; it’s really not fair that tall people are much faster walkers. He led me through the supply room to a hallway in the back, then took me through a door that opened up to the lobby of an apartment complex. He stopped and pointed to the entrance.

“That opens up to the same street the cafe is on.”

And with that, he was already halfway up the staircase in the lobby. He must live here or something.

I checked my watch one more time before shrugging on my jacket and heading out back to my own apartment, walking quickly since it was already night. Falling asleep certainly set me back a bit; I have an important essay due this weekend. I’ll just have to really be on top of it tomorrow. Not my original plan, but it’s the plan I’m going to have to go with.

I still can’t believe how stupid I was, falling asleep like that today. And the fact that it was the barista, of all people, who found me. It was absolutely embarrassing. It’s not like I willingly talk to him or anything, but lately it feels like we’ve been having some kind of silent war between the two of us, having to one up each other. I’m not really sure I completely get it, but something about him made my blood boil, and I just can’t help it. It’s not even like we are downright mean to each other, or get into fistfights or whatever. It felt very “middle school playground” to me.

This occupied my thoughts the whole way home, and before I knew it, I was already inside to find the twins watching television on the couch.

“Heyyyyy!” Rin drawled. “You’re finally home! We were about to text you, since you were gone for quite a bit there.”

“Yeah, well,” I plunked my stuff down on the table, “I fell asleep at the cafe. I didn’t wake up until they were already closed.”

Len gave me an incredulous look. “You _never_ fall asleep anywhere other than your own bed!”

“I’d say that’s branching out in some type of way,” Rin laughed. “If everything else was a bust, at least we may have finally gotten her to take a nap!”

“Oh haha very funny!” I replied sarcastically from the kitchen, grabbing something to eat since I hadn’t had dinner yet. “I can assure you, it won’t happen again. Now scoot!”

I squeezed myself onto the couch so I could sit with them as I ate. It was the truth though; I would definitely never catch myself napping again. I had too much work to do.

It would not happen a second time. Absolutely not.

* * *

_Gakupo’s Perspective_

I mean, that could have gone a lot worse. To be honest, I fully expected that girl to complain the whole way out of the shop. In all my time at the cafe, I had never had someone fall asleep past closing before. Of course, the first time it happened it had to be the person who hated my guts for no apparent reason. I don’t know why that bugged me so much.

It was quiet when I finally got into my apartment. Kaito had left a note on the table saying that he and Meiko were out grabbing dinner and would be back soon. I took the time to change out of my work clothes and give my cat some food. I sighed and lay down on the floor as she ate.

“Why do I feel so weird, Auby? Lately I’ve just been feeling all out of whack.”

Auby looked at me for a second before going back to crunching on her food.

“Oh wise one, tell me what’s going on. Is it the planets or whatever? Mercury in gatorade or some shit? Please impart your wisdom upon me.”

This time she meowed when she looked at me, then went straight back to eating.

“Yeah I thought so,” I sighed. 

Just then, Kaito and Meiko returned from their outing, take-away bags in hand.

“... and I was saying, it really was an interesting choice to – Whoa, hey, what’s up with you?” Kaito nearly tripped over me.

“Talking with my cat. You know. Normal things.” I shrugged, finally sitting up.

“Are you feeling okay?” Meiko asked as she began taking out the food.

Kaito came over to sit down next to me. “Is it Gumi? She came in twice this week already. You keep saying it’s fine, but if it’s not fine–”

“I’m fine, don’t worry about it. It’s not Gumi, like I said, that’s all good. Just feeling a little off, I think I’m just tired. I’ll be better in the morning.”

It didn’t seem like either of them wanted to keep pushing that, so we all got up and ate dinner, talking about other things. Soon enough, they said good night, and I grabbed Auby and headed to my room. I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling for a while.

_“Is it Gumi? She came in twice this week already.”_

How could it be Gumi when I’m constantly thinking about that rude girl who keeps ordering earl grey tea? Why does that bug me so much?

I turn over and finally fall asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

_ Miku’s Perspective _

I would have liked to say I got a full night’s sleep last night and woke up ready to tackle the day, refreshed and prepared to finish up my essay brilliantly, I really would have liked to say that. In actuality, last night was spent laying awake for an hour before I realized sleeping was no use and worked on the essay until I took a nap at 6AM. 

It didn’t last long because my day was packed. I had to be up at 7AM to get ready to go to choir practice since there was a campus symphony orchestra concert at the end of the month. After that, it was my turn to go out and get groceries for the apartment, and I had to run some other errands on top of that. By the time I got home, it was already time to go over to the cafe again, so I threw the groceries in the fridge before going back out.

It was midday and the lack of sleep was already getting to me; my feet felt like they dragged across the pavement, and I can’t say I didn’t almost trip a couple times. It also always seemed I felt so much colder whenever I was tired. I shivered a bit before pulling my jacket tighter around myself.

Geez, I still had to deal with ordering my drink today. But still, that was only maybe a few minutes of my day, nothing too unbearable, I could do this. Not to mention, the little caffeine boost from the tea would be greatly appreciated today.

I stepped into the pleasantly warm cafe, still rubbing up and down my arms a little, making my way over to the line to order.

_ That guy just never has any days off does he? _

I saw him say something to one of the other baristas, and it seemed like he was looking right at me. I subtly looked behind to see if there was someone else in line in back of me, but I was the last one at the moment. I’m sure it was nothing.

Unless, it was like yesterday. He  _ did _ have my drink ready before I even got to the front, and to do that you’d have to pass the order off to someone else to get ready in the meantime. What even is the point of having my drink ready that early? Sure, it’s annoying in a sense, but if he really wanted to piss me off, wouldn’t he get my order wrong or make it take even longer? Something like that? I don’t know why I thought about this so much. Something about it bugged me.

My suspicions were soon confirmed when I got to the front of the line and had a cup of tea thrust in front of me, just like yesterday. I must have let my sleep deprived brain affect my actions because the next thing I knew, I started talking back to him.

“Wow that’s odd, getting a drink I didn’t even order. Excuse me but this isn’t what I want.” I scanned the menu quickly before picking out some random coffee drink to order instead. “Get it right this time, ‘kay?”

Hearing myself talk, I feel like I was taking it a bit overboard, but my mouth was moving before my brain could stop it. It could have been worse I guess. He only scowled a little before writing up a new order and placing the unwanted tea off to the side. I paid and hurried off to my usual table, my cheeks burning and my stomach feeling weird after the encounter. I shook it off, attributing it to the lack of sleep again. After I set up my things, the drink was ready and I carted it off to my table in the corner.

I was finally ready to crack down on myself and work on the essay some more; it still wasn’t done after working on it last night, and it was due at 11:30 tonight. I guess it’s lucky in a roundabout sort of way that I ended up ordering the coffee instead since it has more caffeine than tea. I opened up my laptop and took a sip of the coffee, and…

_ Oh yeah. _

_ Ew, yuck. _

That’s why I don’t order coffee. It always tastes so bitter and gross. Okay, maybe I did deserve a little bit of karma after talking to the barista like that today. No matter, I had an essay to write. I put the coffee down and got to work.

I was maybe half an hour in before the tiredness was really getting to me again. It was getting impossible to keep my eyes open and keep writing, and I could feel myself starting to drift off every now and again.  _ Maybe _ , just a quick nap again… Just half an hour, and I would set my alarm this time so I would be sure to get up. 

With my alarm set for 4:30PM, put my head down and shut my eyes.

* * *

_ Gakupo’s Perspective _

“Oh hey, morning. I was about to wake you up but it seems you beat me to it,” Kaito said as he bumped into me in the hall, looking surprised to say the least.

I could tell he wanted to ask how I was feeling, but restrained himself from doing so. In truth, I still felt weird as all hell, but at least I was well rested now. Not wanting to worry him, I smiled.

“Morning. One of those rare mornings I wake up before my alarm clock. Maybe one of these days I’m going to start barging into your room and waking you and Meiko up before the crack of dawn.” I laughed as I passed him. Honestly, if I just distracted myself enough, I’d probably start feeling just fine.

I grabbed myself a quick breakfast before filling up Auby’s bowl and heading down to the cafe early. Pushing all other thoughts out of my head, I distracted myself by getting everything ready for the day; putting out the display food, checking the various appliances, going over some of the faded parts of the menu. My focus might have been a bit too intense because Meiko practically had to physically restrain me from doing more work than I had to.

Okay so maybe distracting myself too much was still in the “feeling weird” category.

I made myself a cup of tea before we opened up for the day, which admittedly helped me calm down quite a bit. It was soon shaping up to be just another normal day, and I was already feeling a lot better than last night.

That is, until  _ she _ came in sometime in the afternoon.

As soon as I saw her, I asked Meiko to prepare me her usual order, just like yesterday. With each person moving up in the line, the prickly feeling in my stomach got stronger and stronger. Does strongly disliking someone make you want to throw up or something? I was feeling so antsy, I could barely keep still. When she got to the front, I quickly handed her the order; I couldn’t wait until she walked away today.

I saw her stare at the cup for a second before something in her expression shifted and she opened her mouth.

“Wow that’s odd, getting a drink I didn’t even order. Excuse me but this isn’t what I want.” She scanned the menu and hurriedly asked for some random coffee drink.

“Get it right this time, ‘kay?” Her eyes left the menu and her gaze was now trained on me. My stomach dropped when her eyes met mine. I really felt like I was going to be sick.

I couldn’t even manage to say anything back to her, I just took her money and sent her order over to someone to make. I can’t even remember if I ended up handing the receipt of the order to Kaito or Meiko.

I leaned against the counter, trying to compose myself again. The tea was still on the counter, and I figured it shouldn’t go to waste at least, so I started drinking it myself, hoping it would calm me down like the cup of tea from this morning. I don’t know why I was getting so worked up about this one customer. Maybe I was coming down with something.

I watched her from behind the counter again. She made a face when she sipped at the coffee.

_ Ha. I didn’t think something like that was her taste. _

That cleared my head a bit and I got back to work, trying to not let her get to me so much. I switched off with Kaito, letting him run the register while I made drinks. Busy work always seems to help a lot, and soon enough I was getting back into the flow of things. Get drink order, make drink, put out drink, call name, repeat. Time was running by faster now that I had something more to do. I even offered to do all of the after work chores if Kaito and Meiko would pick up some dinner again.

Before I even knew it, it was time to close. With the other two happily off to grab food, I took out the trash and swept up. Everything was all clear and good and–

_ No way. _

There in the corner, fast asleep again, was that girl. I sighed softly, knowing I’d have to deal with this again. And look, she even left all her coffee, she didn’t drink any of it. I noticed her headphones were knocked over on the floor, so I picked them up for her. Before I set them on the table, I held them near my ears to hear what she had been listening to.

Expecting to hear some pop album, I was surprised to say the least when I was greeted by Buck-Tick blasting at full volume. Interesting. Out of curiosity, I pressed the home button on her phone to see if she was listening to it through an album or a playlist, but I was more distracted when I saw the old notification for an alarm at 4:30PM on her screen that said:

ESSAY DUE AT 11:30 GET UP AND FINISH

_ Oh damn.  _

I had already taken a bit of time with the other chores and it was already 7:30; assuming the time it would take her to get home, she only really had three and a half hours to finish her essay. My gut twisted up again and I was suddenly behind the counter, making a to-go drink for this girl who had nothing nice to say to me.

It made no sense in my head. But despite everything, I was trying to help her.

Today, my hand was on her shoulder, gently shaking her awake. “Hey you gotta get up.”

She looked so soft asleep like this, unlike her cold demeanor during the day.

That’s when it clicked for me.

_ Fuck. _


End file.
